A little light murder never hurt anyone. Clue, Knives Out, Only Murders in the Building – all mix comedy with mystery. In an article for Writer’s Digest, Jesse Sutanto suggests ways you can do it too.
In Sutanto’s case, her critique partners thought her mystery protagonists didn’t treat murder with enough seriousness. Instead of caving to peer pressure, Sutanto leaned in to her tastes. “Because something that is very important to me in books and in life is humor,” she explains. “While writing Dial A for Aunties, I knew that it would have murder, and I knew that it was going to be funny.” Here’s how she did it:
- Have a balance of serious and non-serious characters. In Sutanto’s book, her main character, Meddy, reacts to murder with the seriousness it deserves. However, the book also features comic relief, in the form of the hero’s mother and aunties, who can behave as ridiculously as Sutanto wishes. “Meddy is literally voicing my readers’ concerns out, which gives the aunties the chance to defend their position!” Sutanto adds. “As long as you have a sensible, believable character, I find that you can go all out with your side characters and use them to infuse your story with humor.”
- Acknowledge the severity of the situation. You’re having fun, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be serious too. Characters should be affected by the death, even if their behavior is comic.
- Think cinematically. If you box yourself into a corner, imagine the film version of your story, Sutanto advises. If “the worst thing that could happen” would upset the comic tone of your novel, try to imagine the most visually exciting thing that could happen. There’s a good chance you can drag some laughs out of a preposterous scenario that fits the tone of your work.
